Hi everyone, Gonzo here, your branch president. I’m running for the only statewide position dedicated to professional staff in our union, and I’d love your support.

I am proud of what we’ve built at this branch.

It’s a branch filled with imaginative, creative and staunch union members. We set our minds to win big things and come at them every way we can think of to win.

As we campaigned for a new enterprise agreement last year, our branch built new coalitions (especially with students) and took a more targeted approach against UniMelb leadership.

We weren’t afraid to hold the Vice-Chancellor to account with bold, unpredictable and escalating action, and it worked.

Our action and vision won us expanded parental leave, a huge expansion of secure work and gold-standard gender affirmation leave for our trans and gender diverse workmates.

If you elect me to this statewide position I will bring that kind of BIG thinking to our next round of bargaining not only here, but at universities across Victoria.

Big-thinking looks like campaigning for a four-day work week, with study after study showing great benefits from reduced working hours to workers and for employers.


It’s approaching professional development and growth through new ideas like broad banding, which would allow professional staff to move up a HEW level without having our position reclassified. Sadly, imagination is lacking in our state union leadership. They employ the same old playbook of begging management for another cup of porridge instead of laying out a vision that would inspire more of our workmates to join our union and help our chances of winning big things.

To win big, we must grow.

I’m the only candidate in this election that knows how to grow a branch. Since being elected as your branch secretary and now branch president, the UniMelb branch has grown our membership more than 20% and contributed more than 50% of the growth in our statewide union across all Victorian universities. We should all be proud that we’re now the largest NTEU branch in the country.

For more in-depth info about the policies I’m proposing or to see some of the people who are supporting my campaign, visit my website at www.nteuGONZO.com. I have short videos about the issues I’ll be putting on the union’s statewide agenda if you elect me Assistant Secretary.

I stand for a united Victorian division that amplifies the voices of professional staff and fights for the issues that affect us at work every day – respect, workplace safety and fair pay. With over a decade of experience at three universities, I understand the diverse cultures and challenges in our sector. My roles have spanned curriculum design, student equity, and communications in both faculty-based and central departments – I understand the breadth of professional staff work.

I am deeply committed to NTEU – I’ve been branch committee member and National Councillor at Swinburne and Melbourne. I was elected to National Executive in 2021 and served as Vice-President (Professional Staff) until 2022.

Since being elected as Victorian Assistant Secretary (Professional Staff) in 2022, I have been part of the team that led the biggest state-wide strike in NTEU history. Our a strategic bargaining campaign secured new EBAs at 6 universities, with pay rises of 3.43%–4.25%.

In the next 2 years, we need to place professional staff at the centre of our enforcement campaign. To build power among professional staff, we need to grow our membership, engage members, and establish professional staff networks in every branch.

Work-related stress is increasing due to crippling workloads. We need active HSRs, who are NTEU members, engaged in a state-wide campaign to activate our health and safety rights to ensure staff are protected from work-related mental injuries.

Women’s safety at work is another critical issue. A recent NTEU survey revealed a troubling rise in sexual harassment cases. I am spearheading NTEU’s campaign to ban the misuse of non-disclosure agreements in workplace sexual harassment cases. This is a crucial step towards holding university management accountable and ensuring a safe working environment for all.

I’m committed to advancing the work of the NTEU Third Space Working Group that I established this year. Third Space staff face unique challenges in our sector, and I am organising members to take action to achieve better conditions, especially for career progression and professional development.
I am asking for your support in my re-election so that we can continue to make strides for professional staff across all Victorian universities and TAFEs. Together, we will ensure:

● Respect for professional staff
● Protection of mental health at work
● Elevation of Third Space staff voices
● Empowerment of women within NTEU

Let’s keep building a strong, united union that fights for what we deserve.

ruthjelleyNTEU.com